Sport & Story Daily October 24, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

October 24, 2023

Good morning! HBO is turning to the talents of Tua and Tyreek as it taps the Dolphins for a third year of Hard Knocks In-Season…

HBO, NFL Films and Miami Dolphins team up for 'Hard Knocks In-Season'
Football fans are getting a behind-the-scenes look at Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins later this season as HBO will feature them as the spotlight team for “Hard Knocks” this fall. Miami was last featured on “Hard Knocks” in 2012 under then-first-year head coach Joe Philbin. Read more here.

FS1 gets ALCS Game 5 boost
Game 5 of the ALCS delivered for FOX Sports as 4.5 million viewers tuned in across FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services to watch the Astros’ victory. On FS1 alone, the game averaged 4.222 million viewers, for a rise of 18% over last year’s Game 5 on the channel. Through five games, the ALCS is up 2% and averaging 4.734 million viewers on FS1. Read more here.

Saudi Arabia launches Esports World Cup
Saudi Arabia announced plans to launch an annual Esports World Cup, serving up the most popular games in the world and touting the largest prize pool in esports history. The newly-announced competition will be held annually in Riyadh starting summer 2024. Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group said last year it will invest $37.8 billion in initiatives aimed at making Saudi Arabia a global hub for gaming. Read more here.

Lawmakers, AGs urge Supreme Court to end MLB antitrust immunity
Over a dozen attorney generals joined US lawmakers and others in pushing the Supreme Court to end Major League Baseball’s antitrust immunity. They claim that the long-running exemption harms competition and noted that the Supreme Court has declined to apply antitrust exemptions to other major sports leagues, such as the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. Read more here.

LIV Golf hires new chief operating officer
LIV Golf has hired a new Chief Operating Officer nearly one year after its original COO left his position after the league’s inaugural season. Lawrence J. Burian, a former executive at Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation, will now oversee LIV’s 2024 schedule execution, investor relations and team management. Read more here.

A$AP Rocky appointed creative director of PUMA x F1 Partnership
Sports brand Puma is turning to rapper A$AP Rocky to stand at the helm for a new long-term partnership. Rocky has been appointed Creative Director by Puma for the sector that focuses on sports and streetwear, with his first order of business to turn his energy towards the new Puma x Formula One (F1) partnership. Through bespoke capsule designs and innovative visual content, the Puma x F1 collaboration hopes to bring a new perspective and draw in more F1 fans.
lofficielusa.com

Mastercard’s masterplan for its ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 sponsorship
After IPL fever, cricket mania is once again gripping India as it hosts the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 through October and November. In front of thousands in stadiums and millions watching live around the world, brands are competing to catch the eye through various associations and sponsorships. Among them is Mastercard, which has made sports associations a key pillar of its marketing plans. The payments giant recently announced a global partnership with ICC (the global governing body for cricket) with the idea of providing “‘priceless’ experiences to cricket fans during the 2023 Cricket World Cup.”
thedrum.com

Super Bowl ad brand recall declining
Super Bowl advertising averaged $7 million dollars for a 30-second commercial this year, but a new report finds that almost 20% of viewers who saw the ads were not able to remember the brand the ad was promoting. Disney did well in the 2023 game, while Tubi and Squarespace fell short, according to a new report analyzing Super Bowl ads from 2020 to 2023.
adage.com

ESPN, MLB each have an opt-out in rights deal following 2025 season
MLB’s current media rights deal with ESPN runs through the 2028 season, but either party can opt-out and end the deal after 2025.Per The New York Post, both ESPN and MLB have opt-outs in the deal after the 2025 season. ESPN is paying $550 million per season in the current agreement, which began with the 2022 season. $100 million of that deal is tied up in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, which is between eight and 12 games long each October.
awfulannouncing.com

Jake Paul officially ‘accepts’ MMA fight with Nate Diaz
Jake Paul has officially ‘accepted’ a mixed martial arts fight with Nate Diaz, per the YouTube star’s promotional company. Paul beat UFC icon Diaz in a boxing match in August, knocking down and outpointing his fellow American. Paul, 26, has since announced that his next boxing match will take place in December, but Diaz, 38, has been ruled out as the opponent.
yahoo.com

Peyton’s Places season 4 available exclusively on ESPN+

Episode 1 of the latest season of ESPN+ Original series Peyton’s Places is now available exclusively on ESPN+. Peyton Manning returns to host a fourth season of the popular Emmy-nominated football-themed docuseries, which features Manning exploring football’s history and cultural impact through conversations with players, coaches and other key figures.
espnpressroom.com

LIV Golf says ‘more networks are listening or showing interest’ in Friday package
While discussions of if and how the proposed LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger will actually play out ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline remain up in the air, the controversial Saudi-backed series is going ahead with its broadcast plans for another year. Those will include the second and third (Saturday and Sundays) days of their events being televised on The CW again.
awfulannouncing.com

SiriusXM to broadcast every NBA game during 2023-2024 season
The NBA season will debut today, and every regular season game, as well as the NBA playoffs, NBA Finals, and the newly created NBA In-Season Tournament will be available on SiriusXM. The satellite radio provider unveiled plans for the upcoming season today, showcasing every NBA contest throughout the league. Additionally, the platform will provide coverage of all 67 games in the NBA’s new in-season tournament. All 30 teams will be vying for the NBA Cup, which begins on Friday, November 3rd, and culminates in the Championship on Saturday, December 9th in Las Vegas.
barrettsportsmedia.com

NBA focused on Seattle, Las Vegas when it comes to expansion
It’s no secret that the NBA wants to expand beyond its current 30 franchises sooner than later. During last season’s NBA Finals, league commissioner Adam Silver specifically mentioned Las Vegas and Seattle as two cities — among others — under consideration for expansion teams. He also said the NBA would shift its focus to expansion once its next set of media rights deals were completed — which could be as soon as mid-2024.
frontofficesports.com

Washington Wizards announce Robinhood as official brokerage and jersey patch partner
The Washington Wizards today announced that Robinhood, a financial services platform that pioneered commission-free stock trading, becomes the NBA franchise’s official brokerage and jersey patch partner. Robinhood’s logo will be prominently featured on Wizards home and away jerseys starting in the 2023-24 season. This multi-year partnership agreement marks the first of its kind for Robinhood, featuring one of the most innovative teams in the NBA.
nba.com

ESPN hires Andre Iguodala, Austin Rivers, more as studio analysts: What to expect from them on-air
Four-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala has a new gig, just three days after he retired from basketball. ESPN has hired Iguodala as a studio analyst. David Roberts, the head of event and studio production at ESPN and the lead executive for the network’s NBA and WNBA production, said he was impressed by Iguodala’s candor on his podcast as well as his storied history as a player and voice in the league. Iguodala won’t just appear on NBA-centric shows: Roberts said viewers will see him on “First Take” as well as “Get Up.”
theathletic.com

Saudi Arabia PIF’S sports-focused fund appoints CEO
SRJ Sports Investments, the sports-focused fund launched in August by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), appointed Danny Townsend as its chief executive officer. Townsend was previously CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues and had stints at Sydney FC, Nielsen Sport and Repucom.
sportico.com

Tuesday Trivia
In what film franchise would you find the game of Dejarik?
Answer to last week’s question: A Texas Wedge

Thanks for reading!

Sport & Story Daily and Sports & Story College are the sport industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects reads to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Chris Pursell is the founder of staple industry events such as the Cynopsis Sports Business Awards, the Esports Business Summit, the CMO Exchange, the Tempest Awards, and the Esports Newfronts. He was previously a reporter and editor for publications such as Variety and The Los Angeles Times and launched leading business publications for Cynopsis and PromaxBDA.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

And feel free to read our Privacy Policy.

8